Peer Observation of Teaching Form - PGCHE

Section 1 To be completed by the observer and observee Observer: Caroline Cash Observee: Rosie Sellwood Date: 22 March 2011

Course: Performance Subject of lesson: Searching and Researching Number of students expected to attend: Maximum 16 Actual number in attendance: Three in total Session length:

Year: Lesson Plan: Agenda set

1 hr then handover to Val Diggle Observation time (mins): 55 minutes

Activity(ies): e.g. lecture, seminar, tutorial, supervised studio or location work, one to one tuition Demonstration seminar in IT suite Strengths observer to identify in bullet points: e.g. clarity of aims/outcomes, planning and organisation, methods/approach, delivery and pace, content (currency, accuracy, relevance , use of examples, level, match to students needs), student participation/achievement, use of accommodation learning resources You made a good start by asking students about themselves. This set a less formal tone and made your manner very approachable. This was evident in that students clearly felt comfortable asking you questions. You also set a positive tone by framing the session around `enjoying research` and emphasised this aspect on your PowerPoint slide. Your PP contained plenty of visual stimulus and moved away from a dense body of text. The slides were easy to read and accessible. You also encouraged students to take a visual approach to planning their own research strategy. This is particularly helpful for students whose primary cognitive approaches are visual and/or performance-based (kinaesthetic)

Areas for development: observer and observee to identify further opportunities for development as appropriate You could set an early activity around students own assignment topic. This would give a pertinent and targeted focus on the students` own work. This also works for larger groups too. E.g. Finding appropriate boolean searches. Students could work in pairs or groups to do this.

There was clearly some communication issue as one student commented that no-one in the library seemed to know where the session was taking place. There was also possibly a lack of communication from course tutor to emphasise/encourage attendance. Friday afternoons are a notoriously difficult timetabling slot. Areas for sharing good practice (noted areas of exceptional quality): observer to identify areas of good practice to be shared

You gave a good response to the question about accessing Exeter resources.

You used well chosen journals and databases that are appropriate to the performance courses and likely to be of interest to the participating students e.g. Project Muse

The worksheet that you developed for this session was an appropriate way to set a guided task for students to actively engage in information searching.

If time allowed, you could let students practice on their own assignment topics and explore information sources and then share what they found in a plenary session.

You gave a useful tip about being able to hear articles read to save having to print or read from the screen. Again this provides accessible alternatives for different styles of learning.

Other useful tips included pointing towards Newsbank and aggregating databases such as INTUTE and OMO.

In response to a question about referencing instead of answering the query directly. Which I know you could have done. You pointed students to the comprehensive resources on the ASK section of the LearningSpace -giving students the tools to help themselves. This provided a good balance between support and challenge.

At the end of the session you offered further one-to-one support if needed. A generous and approachable offer and backed up with plenty of supporting resources.

There was some issue about where students would be able to access your PP and you need to discuss this with library colleagues. Especially as students at this session were representing a number of different courses.

Further development: observer and observee to identify further opportunities for development as appropriate

The observer to summarise the lessons overall quality in relation to the learning outcomes:

Degree of difficulty: please tick any of the following which apply and use them to moderate your comments Notes/Comments New subject or unit

New strategy

New group

Environmental factors

Section 2 To be completed by the person being observed

Reflection on teaching/peer observation:

What have you found helpful about the observation process? It was useful to have someone from outside the library staff to observe a session. The comments made were invaluable for recognising good practice as well as areas for improvement. This has allowed me to reflect on my teaching practice in a more productive and practical way.

Any further comments about the session and observation?

Please keep a copy of this in your PGCHE portfolio